1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a storage system for a vehicle spare tire. More particularly, the present invention relates to a storage system for a spare tire of a vehicle having a rearwardly located storage area, the storage system including a storage tub located below the floor of the vehicle and a reinforced cover therefore.
2. Discussion
Automotive vehicles, such as minivans, vans, station wagons, sport utilities and the like are often purchased for their carrying capacity. These types of vehicles typically include a rear storage area accessible via a lift gate or tailgate. Because such vehicles are not provided with a trunk, packaging issues frequently arise concerning storage of the spare tire. Frequently, the spare tire is mounted in an upright position within the rearward storage area and adjacent one of the vehicle side walls. However, this type of storage significantly impacts the carrying capacity of the vehicle and reduces visibility.
It is also known to mount the spare tire to the underside of the vehicle body. Access to the spare tire is difficult, and can be an extremely dirty endeavor to change a flat tire. In recent years there has been an industry wide push to supply functional vehicles, such as those mentioned above, with a higher level of luxury. An offshoot of the luxury concept would be to provide a clean and easy way to change a flat tire, and this underside mount of the spare tire would not suffice.
In other arrangements, the spare tire is mounted to the lift gate or on a swing gate positioned adjacent the lift gate. Such arrangements are disadvantageous in that additional weight is carried by the lift gate or the swing gate must be moved out of the way before access to the lift gate may be obtained.
It is also known to store the spare tire within a storage compartment or tub provided below the vehicle's floor. Some type of cover is typically provided for concealing the tub. While the tub does not impede upon the carrying capacity of the rearward storage area and access to the spare tire is relatively easy, the amount of weight which may be positioned directly above the tub is limited due to the load carrying capacity of conventional covers. As a result, larger adults and cargo of significant weight cannot be placed above the tub.